The Australian broadacre harvest is on and combustible materials, heat, low humidity and gale force winds present a dangerous combination! Fires during harvest cause not only major crop damage with consequent financial losses, but could also cause the destruction of expensive harvesting equipment and machinery.
The majority of harvester fires originate from the engine base as the build-up of flammable material can spontaneously combust. Exhaust sparks are another major cause, risking loss of the combine.
“The key to avoiding harvester fires is attention to clean down and inspection”, said Aussie Pumps’ Product Manager, Brad Farrugia. “We advise postponing harvesting during high risk periods,” he added.
Aussie Pumps, Australia’s leader in fire pump design and development, worked with farmers to develop pumps capable of providing real protection. “There is no point in having a 10,000 litre capacity water cart if the pump can’t throw water at the fire fast enough,” explained Farrugia.
The Aussie Mr T 2”x2” twin impeller pump is regarded by the market as a leader in its class. To achieve its performance, the Aussie Mr T comes with a genuine Honda 9hp or 13hp petrol engine. The pump is superbly matched with the engine’s capability, and is designed to get the most out of both pump and engine.
A diesel drive version is also available with a Yanmar 10hp electric start, air cooled, engine powering the big pump’s performance. Both engines offer loads of torque and allow the pump to be able to reach a whopping 95 metre head and still deliver a maximum flow up to 480 litres per minute.
The Mr T is available in either 2” or 3” configuration and delivers flows in excess of 200 litres per minute at 65 metre head. “An added bonus is the pump’s ability to draft water from creeks and dams. It has an unequalled vertical suction lift of 7.6m,” said Farrugia. A sturdy galvanised roll frame with anti-vibration mounts is supplied as standard on all configurations.
For larger applications Aussie Pumps developed a 3” pump that delivers flows of up to 1,000 litres per minute. “If you’ve got the capacity in the water cart, it’s smart to use a pump that’s got serious flow capabilities,” said Farrugia. “We developed the Aussie QP3310SX for just this type of application.”
Aussie Pumps originally developed the big 3” high pressure pump as a village fire protection unit. The company claims that this 3” pump is the first of its kind to provide genuine 4” pump performance, i.e. high volumes at high pressure.
The big pump self primes, first time every time, with the ability to draft water from vertical depths as low as 8.4m. Its maximum head is 70m, that’s over 100psi! Serious croppers understand that they need to invest in capability if they’re going to stop a crop fire fast. The big 3” Aussie is ideally suited for the use of water cannons or 3” hoses with professional fire fighting nozzle equipment. “These big pumps can throw a jet 50 or 60 metres and pour huge amounts of water on the fire, literally drowning it”, said Farrugia.
Further information on the complete range of Aussie Quik Prime pumps is available from our QP Pumps page.
